‘Another world of pain’—athlete and sport physiotherapist perspectives on the unique experience of pain in sport

Abstract

Our objective was to explore athlete’s and sports physiotherapists’ experiences of sports-related pain in the upper and lower limb. Using a constructivist and pragmatic perspective, we carried out focus groups comprising a deliberate criterion sample of athletes and sports physiotherapists. We used a topic guide that moved from open exploratory questions to questions focusing on the phenomena of sports-related pain in athletes. We coded, developed candidate themes and refined finalised themes using reflexive thematic analysis. A member of our research team acted as a critical friend adding additional perspectives. We followed the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ). We completed five focus groups comprising 12 athletes (n=5 female, n=7 male) and four sports physiotherapists (n=4 male) including one initial pilot (two athletes). We developed four final themes (1–4) and nine subthemes (1.1–4.3): (1) Athlete Pain Lens (1.1—pain is part of being an athlete and 1.2—pain shapes the life of an athlete), (2) Exploring And Navigating Pain (2.1—the sports-related pain spectrum and 2.2—making sense of pain), (3) The Emotional Toll of Pain (3.1—challenging emotions and 3.2—the impact of time) and (4) Coping, Community and Communication (4.1—coping with pain, 4.2—influence of community and support network and 4.3—communication, the broken key). We highlighted the distinct and challenging phenomenon of sports-related pain experienced by athletes and physiotherapists. Through effective communication, members of the athlete’s community may recognise, and adjust to these challenges.